Folding game board with playing piece receptacles



April O, 1951 J. E. HUFFAKER FOLDING GAME BOARD WITH PLAYING PIECE RECEPTACLES Filed Feb. 24, 1950 ago atented pr. l0, 1951 OFFICE FOLDING GAME BOARD WITH PLAYING PIECE RECEPTACLES John E. Huiaker, Portland, Oreg.

Application February 24, 1950, Serial No. 145,969

6 Claims. l

This invention relates to a novel construction of game board and more particularly to a game board constituting an improvement over my prior U. S. Patents Nos. 2,257,687 and 2,235,615, in that the present invention utilizes all available space for the storing of playing pieces and other articles to be employed with the game board and is so constructed that all of the game board receptacles are located below the level of the playing surface of the game board.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a game board which may be very economically manufactured and sold and which affords a maximum amount of storage space without materially increasing the dimensions of the game board,

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the game board in an extended position and with certain of the receptacles thereof shown in partly open positions;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the extended game board taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional View thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3 3 of Figure ll;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 11--4 of Figure l, andl Figure 5 is an edge elevational view showing the game board in a folded position.

Referring more speoically to the drawing, the

novel game board in its entirety is designated generally E and includes two substantially identical game board sections, designated generally I and B.

Each game board section "I and 8 preferably includes a frame formed of a relatively light weight sheet metal including a top wall 9, a bottom wall I0 and an inner end wall II. The end walls I I are preferably formed integral with the top walls 9 of their respective sections and are disposed at right angles thereto. Each end wall II has an inturned bottom flange I2 which is suitably secured to its associated bottom wall. The top walls 9 are each provided with downturned side flanges forming side walls I3 which are secured at their bottom edges in any suitable manner to the complementary edges of the associated bottom wall ID. Each end wall I I is reinforced on its inner side by reinforcing strips I4 which are suitably bonded thereto and extend from end-to-end thereof.

An elongated, upwardly opening receptacle I5,

posed along each side of each game boardsection 'I and 8, said receptacles I5 each having a side wall disposed in abutting engagement with one of the side walls I3 and suitably secured thereto, as best illustrated in Figure 3. The receptacles I5 are provided with closed remotely disposed ends I6 and the end portions of the inner end walls II and said backing strips I4 are extended to close the inner, adjacent ends of said receptacles I5, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The game board 6 is provided with a playing surface formed by two relatively thin piles Il of any suitable material, one of which is disposed over each top wall 9 and secured in spaced relationship thereto by marginally disposed spacing strips I8 which are interposed between said panels Il and the top walls 9 and which spacing strips I8 are bonded to the panels I'I and the top walls 9. The panels I'I are disposed co-extensive with the top walls 9 and may be provided on their upper surfaces with any suitable marking or otherdelineations, not shown, for use in playing any particular game.

The top and bottom walls, side walls and inner end wall of each game board section combine to form an outwardly opening drawer receiving recess I9 in which a drawer 20 for receiving playing pieces and other game paraphernalia, not shown, is slidably disposed. Each drawer 20 adjacent its outer end wal-l is provided with a separate restricted compartment 2I and is likewise provided on the outer side of its outer end wall with a handle 22 for manually moving the drawer to an open or extended position from a fully closed, nested position, as illustrated in Figure 5. Each drawer 20 i5 likewise formed preferably of sheet metal and in each of its side walls is preferably provided with two pressed in portions forming outwardly opening recesses 23 to releasably receive detents 24, formed by inwardly pressed projections of the frame side walls I3 for releasably latching the drawers 20 in fully closed or partially extended positions. The resiliency of the sheet metal parts in which the depressions 23 and projections 24 are formed combine therewith to form spring latches for the drawers 20.

The spacing strips I8 extend only along the inner and outer ends of the game board sections so that the space 25 between the top wall 9 and the panels I'I, disposed thereabove, is open atits ends, or adjacent the receptacles I5 and said space 25 of each g-ame board section accommodates a sliding cover 26 adjacent each side edge of the game board section and which covers may be extended outwardly to close the open top of the adjacent receptacle I5. The outer side wall of each receptacle I5 is provided adjacent its upper edge with an inwardly opening channel portion 21 to receive an edge of the sliding closure 26, when said closure is in a position for clos,-l

ing the receptacle I5 and which channel portion has a cut out part 28, intermediate of its ends to accommodate an upstanding handle portion 29 of the sliding closure 26. Each sliding closure 26 is provided with a depending projection 30 for selectively engaging one or the other of two upwardly opening depressions 3| in the portion of the top wall 9 over which it is disposed and which functions therewith as a spring latch for retaining the sliding closure 26 in an extended, receptacle closing position, as illustrated in Figure 3 or in a retracted position as illustrated in the upper right-hand portion of Figure l.

The game board sections 'I and 8 are hingedly connected at their bottom and inner edges by leaf hinges 32 which are secured to the frame bottoms I0 so that the game board 6 may swing to and from an extended and folded position as illustrated in Figures 2 and 5, respectively. The inner end wall I I of the game board section l, near each end thereof, is punched inwardly to provide a resilient socket 33', as seen in Figure 2, and the inner end wall II of the game board section 8 is provided near each end thereof with a projecting stud 33a which is receivable in the resilient socket 33 when the game board sections are disposed in extended, coplanar positions, as illustrated in Figure 2 and with the inner end walls I I abutting. The resiliency of the sockets 33 allow them to expand to receive the studs 33a and thus form a resilient snap fastening means for releasably retaining the game board sections in their extended positions. Said inner end walls I! may likewise be provided with outwardly opening, interntting projections and recesses 34 and 35, respectively, which are disposed in intertting engagement when the game board sections are extended and which further assist in maintaining said sections in coplanar relationship.

It will be readily apparent that the drawers when in closed positions and the receptacles I5, when closed by the sliding closures 26 will afford ample storage space for game pieces and other game paraphernalia, not shown, and may be readily extended or exposed to afford access thereto. It will likewise be apparent that such containers afford storage space substantially corresponding to the total space occupied by the game board and will in no way interfere with the normal use of the game board and do not extend above the plane of the top surface thereof, when the game board is in an extended position, so that the containers or receptacles will not interfere with the normal use of the game board.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A game board comprising a pair of sections each comprising a frame having a top wall, a bottom wall, an inner end, an open outer end and complementary sides, the inner ends of the sections being hingedly connected for swinging movement from extended co-planar positions to folded positions, one upon the other, the frame of each game board section dening a recess opening outwardly of the outer1 end of said section, a draiver slidably disposed in the recess of each section, a playing piece receiving receptacle having an- Open top secured to each side edge of each game board section, a panel forming a playing surface disposed over and secured above the top wall of the frame of each game board section, spacing strips interposedr between said panel and top wall extending parallel to and being disposed adjacent the inner and outer ends of each frame and dening a space between the top wall and panel opening outwardly of the sides of the game board section adjacent each of said receptacles, and a closure for each of said receptacles, said closures being slidably disposed in the space of each game board section between the frame top wall and its superposed panel.

2. A game board as in claim 1, each of said game board sections having resilient latch means for releasably retaining its drawer and sliding closures in closed or open positions.

3. A game board as in claim 1, said frame sections having inner end Walls disposed in abutting engagement when the game board sections are in extended, co-planar positions, one 0f said inner end walls being provided with outwardly opening indentations forming resilient sockets, and said other` inner end wall having studs fixed thereto and projecting outwardly therefrom and engaging in said sockets, when the game board sections are extended, for releasably lat-ching said sections in extended positions.

4. A game board comprising a frame including an upper side and side edges, an upwardly opening receptacle secured to and disposed alongr one side edge of said frame, spacing members secured on said upper side extending transversely with respect to said side edge, a panel forming a playing surface superimposed on and secured to the spacing members and spaced from said upper side to define a space between the upper side and panel opening outwardly of said side edge and above and adjacent said receptacle, a substantially at closure for closing the open top of said receptacle, said closure extending into and slidably engaging in the space between the upper side and panel and being retractable into said space for exposing the open top of the receptacle.

5. A game board as in claim 4, said receptacle having an outer side Wall provided adjacent its upper edge with an inwardly opening channel portion for receiving an edge of the sliding closure when the closure is in an extended, closing position, said channel portion being recessed intermediate of its ends, and a handle projecting upwardly from said edge of the closure and disposed in the recess of the channel portion when the closure is in a closing position.

6. A game board as in claim 4, and resilient latch means for releasably latching the sliding closure to the frame for retaining the closure in either an extended or a retracted position.

JOHN E. HUFFAKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,793,256 Shuhnan Feb. 17, 1931 2,235,615 Huifaker Mar. 18, 1941 2,257,687 Hui'aker Sept. 30, 191l1 V FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 284,536 Great Britain Feb. 2, 19,28 

